The alignment of my pieces wasn't perfect. I used my
jointer with the fence removed to
level them. (normally, one would remove the guard for this instead of
the fence, but on my jointer, the fence is easier to remove
than the guard)

Then adding a 1/4" round-over to the top edge.

Here's what it looks like after varnishing. The middle part of the joint,
with its alternating grain direction is essentially like plywood.